Some subreddits could be paywalled, hints Reddit CEO

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has hinted that in future some subreddits could be paywalled, as the company seeks to devise new sources of income.

Huffman raised the prospect during an earnings call in which he said Reddit would also be testing AI-powered search results later this year …

Reddit’s drive for cash

Reddit has been very focused on making money both in the run-up to its IPO, and since.

The first big news on this front was more than a year ago, when the company started charging developers for API calls, forcing the closure of the popular third-party app Apollo. That led to wide-scale protests that the company had to forcibly shut down.

It was subsequently revealed that the company had signed a deal with Google to allow Reddit posts to be used as training data, which later saw the company blocking all other search engines.

AI search could generate ad revenue

Engadget reports that Huffman now sees AI-powered search as a potential revenue source.

During the call, the Reddit co-founder said the company would begin testing AI-powered search results later this year [and] that search could one day be a significant source of advertising revenue for the company.

Some subreddits could be paywalled

More worryingly, Huffman also hinted that in future some subreddits could be paywalled.

He suggested that the company might experiment with paywalled subreddits as it looks to monetize new features. “I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has,” Huffman said. “But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.”

9to5Mac’s Take

This is another move likely to anger Redditors. While the platform is a commercial enterprise, its value derives almost entirely from freely offered user content. That means Redditors feel at least some sense of ownership in a community endeavour, so the company needs to tread carefully when it comes to monetization at user expense.

Image: 9to5Mac collage using image from Reddit